Arrest Serves As Reminder Of Domestic Violence As Real Crime

The Laramie Police Department arrested a man for multiple felonies after a domestic dispute around 11:30 p.m. on Monday, July 21.

David Shawn Sant, 34, was arrested for Aggravated Assault and Battery, Strangulation of a Household Member, and Felonious Restraint.

According to officials at the Laramie Police Department, a person is guilty of Aggravated Assault if he intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to a women he knows is pregnant. Aggravated Assault is a felony punishable of up to 10 years imprisonment.

Strangulation of a Household Member is also a felony and is punishable of no more than five years imprisonment. In addition, Felonious Restraint is a felony which carries a penalty of up to five years imprisonment.

Commander Mitchell Cushman from the Laramie Police Department says that people often don’t consider domestic disputes as a problem because there are so many calls and reports. However, Commander Cushman is reminding people that the calls that result in arrest are not just misunderstandings.

Commander Cushman provided some statistics to put these calls in perspective. He says in 2013 Albany County had 55 domestic dispute calls that were cleared with arrests. He adds that while that number does not sound too large, only one quarter of all physical assaults are reported to the police.

He says that according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, these kinds of domestic violence cases are the number one cause of injury to women. In fact, there are more injuries to women from domestic violence than from muggings, sexual assaults and accidents combined. In addition, the cost of intimate partner violence is more than $5.8 billion every year. Of that number, about $4.1 billion is for direct medical and mental health services. He adds that domestic violence victims lose almost eight million paid work days a year in the United States, the equivalent of 32,000 full time jobs.

This arrest and national statistics go to show that domestic violence is not always a misunderstanding, and very serious consequences come from these incidents.